One Piece: Unlimited Cruise SP

I'll admit that One Piece: Unlimited Cruise SP is a game that's still confusing me - but I'll leave that down to the fact that I don't understand the franchise. One of Japan's longest-running mangas has had a series of media associated with it to exploit its popularity. And while the books and TV shows are generally considered good, other media hasn't had such a high-acclaim, especially video games.

One Piece: Unlimited Cruise SP is a handheld version of a couple of Japanese-only release games that aim to serve Western audiences a playable pirate epic. As a person, someone who hasn't immersed myself in the series, I find everything a little baffling about that. However, seeing the fuss is always interesting, especially with such a popular franchise.

It's a Pirates Cruise For Me

We've already touched on the notion that One Piece: Unlimited Cruise SP is an amalgamation of two home console games of the same name. Whether you like that idea or not, that is the basis of how the game plays out. The narrative, albeit confusing to me, is similar to the other two games, though a rushed version. And the visuals and mechanics have been slightly downgraded to fit the limitations of a handheld.

Players will find themselves on a scaled-down tropical island battling pirate foes associated with the One Piece franchise. Unfortunately, that's just about all I could find in this game, where little made sense without prior exposure to the manga or original titles, for that matter. So is there anything that can at least capture the attention of an unsuspecting gamer?

One of the more intriguing parts is the ability to switch between party members as you explore this world, taking advantage of each brash combat style to subdue enemies. It's mildly entertaining for a while, but when you don't understand the lore, One Piece: Unlimited Cruise SP has little going on. The adventure feels like a dull, bland ride to the end, presenting more questions than answers.

But it doesn't take a One Piece fanatic to realize that this is a feeble attempt to capitalize on some content for a Western audience. One Piece: Unlimited Cruise SP is lacking in just about every gameplay area. It isn't easy to understand why even the most dedicated franchise fans would enjoy what's on offer here.

Unlimited Confusion

There's a mutually agreed premise in the West that video games of popular media franchises will be terrible. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 holding the beacon for that standard. However, Japanese games of famous series tend to do better in delivering content fans want to play. One Piece: Unlimited Cruise SP is not one of those titles.

Round-Up - Pros & Cons

Pros:

• The combat is entertaining in doses
• Multiple playable characters you can switch between

Cons:

• The game's narrative is lacking with confusing dialogue
• Players uninformed on One Piece won't have any clue what's happening
• Overall gameplay is dull